


Ew.

by henclair



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Barb is Alive and Lesbian, Eleven is Here, F/F, Lowkey an au???, M/M, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Homophobia, Precursor to Shitty Summers, Slurs, They use the word dyke a couple of times, Will has issues but like ofc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-11 00:18:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12310887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/henclair/pseuds/henclair
Summary: “You like her?” Will asked incredulously, sitting up on his cot and shifting the wires that connected him to many devices so he could look at his friend. Mike blushed and looked down at the floor where he was scuffing his new sneakers on the sterile floor.“I mean, who doesn’t?” He asked, looking at the other boys behind him. Dustin wrinkled his nose and whispered something along the line of “Superpowers.” while Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes.





	1. Chapter 1

“You like her?” Will asked incredulously, sitting up on his cot and shifting the wires that connected him to many devices so he could look at his friend. Mike blushed and looked down at the floor where he was scuffing his new sneakers on the sterile floor.

“I mean, who doesn’t?” He asked, looking at the other boys behind him. Dustin wrinkled his nose and whispered something along the line of “Superpowers.” while Lucas scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

“I don’t!” He said, a bit louder than expected. “I mean I just met her but really?” Will asked Mike, who just shrugged. Will frowned, he didn’t know why this bothered him so much. Maybe it was the fact that Mike had never shown interest in anyone romantically and had spent all his time on his friends. 

Will wasn’t used to being second in his best friend’s heart, any of their hearts.

“She’s pretty!” Mike said, raising his hands slightly in a defensive position. “And she’s a girl who lived in my house that wasn’t my sister what did you expect?” Dustin snickered at that.

Will frowned, looking down at his hands, and turning them over, not looking at the boys by his bedside. The last statement stung. Because Eleven was a girl, of course that was why Mike fell for her. 

Girls were pretty, sure. Soft hands and mostly dewey smiles. But the dewey smiles boys got after crying were better. And soft hands made him feel weak, because he had soft hands like a pretty girl and those soft hands never protected him.

But more calloused hands that boy's got from riding bikes, those made Will feel safe. Because he knew hands like those and had held them when he ran from bullies or when he needed reassurance. 

“Well this is sufficiently awkward.” Lucas said, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms. He kicked up his legs so they were resting on the metal at the end of Will’s hospital bed and tipped his chair back, staring with one eyebrow raised at his two friends.

“Jeez,” Dustin said, pointing at the two, “we’re like a freakin teen movie right now!” He said snickering. His laughter was cut off when the hospital door opened to reveal the girl that had caused it in the first place.

“Oh!” Mike said, getting up from his chair by Will’s bedside. “El! They let you come in?” The girl just shook her head, and looked at Mike dead in the eyes, squinting her own and her fists clenching.

“Boys.” She said, causing confusion all around the room. “No.” She pointed at Mike, who was looking slightly sick. 

“Ew.” Eleven said still pointing at Mike. Dustin’s snickers had come back, and he was now covering his mouth with his hands.

“W-what do you mean El?” Mike asked, looking back at his other friends for help. Lucas had just shrugged, tipping a bit farther back when Eleven grabbed Mike by the jacket and turned him so he was facing her again.

She pointed between the two of them and spoke.

“Boys, love. Ew.” She said, attempting to get her point across. After saying that she left the room, turning quickly on her heel and leaving the four boys in the various stages of shock.

“Gee you think she heard us?” Dustin asked, attempting to lighten the weirdly heavy mood.

“What does she mean by ‘Boys, love. Ew.’?” Mike asked, sitting down on the chair he had abandoned. Lucas quirked his eyebrow and set himself and his chair down quickly with a loud thud.

“What do you mean what does she mean? That seemed pretty obvious to me.” Lucas said. He looked over to Will who seemed very deep in reflection as he stared at his hands.

“So you think she’s a dyke?” Dustin asked, leaning down and letting his elbows rest on his knees. Will gasped and reached over to hit his friend on the arm.

“Don’t say that!” He hissed out. Dustin’s eyes widened and he put his hands up in surprise at his small friend’s anger towards the word. 

“Sorry dude!” He continued speaking however, leaning back down. “I mean what I got from that is that she doesn’t like boys. And it’s not that hard to see I mean, Will you weren’t here but like she never really liked any of us. Also seemed to be more comfortable around people of the more female group.” Lucas nodded at Dustin in agreement with the boy’s words.

“I mean yeah Dustin, you are right. And Mike be honest man, did she ever show interest in you?” Lucas asked, Mike started to look like he was turning a very interesting shade of green at the boys comments.

“Ok guys, I think he gets the point.” Will said, putting a hand out placatingly at his friends. He smiled kindly at Mike, heart fluttering when Mike looked thankfully back at him. 

“But, seriously do you think she’s” Will paused unsure of what wording to use, “like Barb?” Mike snorted, his green face going away and being replaced with a red one from laughter. 

“That’s real funny Will. You really think Barb’s like that too?” Lucas asked his friends. Dustin nodded in response and Will did too, his head enthusiastically shaking. Mike spoke up.

“I know Barb is a dyke. I have to hang around her because she followed my sister around like a lost puppy and I see where she’s looking.” Mike said, causing more peals of laughter from his friends. Will and the rest of the boys chimed in agreement.

“But you really think Eleven is, like that?” He asked, another sick look overtaking his features.

Will frowned at that look, did it really bother Mike that much that Eleven might like girls? How would he feel about Will, possibly, liking boys? Maybe it was just because he liked Eleven, Will though hopefully, that could be it. But Will knew that the mindset their little town had was more toxic then they gave it credit for and so there was probably that sick feeling just because it was a girl who liked a girl, not just because it was his crush who liked girls.

“I don’t know man, all the signs point that way.” Lucas said, looking sympathetically at Mike who had taken to observing the floor with great concentration. Will tentatively put a hand on his friend’s back. 

“Besides,” Dustin said, basically grasping at string in an attempt to lighten his friends mood because for god’s sake their best friend was alive, “you can focus on your D&D conquests instead of your romantic conquests now huh?” Mike laughed at his friend’s comment, the hurt in his eyes diminishing slightly.

“Yeah and I’ve got to say,” Will started, “I think I deserve to reroll on my fight with the Demogorgon, I mean come on guys! Foreshadowing much?” He threw up his arms and waved them wildly.

“No Will, we’re not going to let you reroll.” Mike said, looking at his small friend on the bed connected to all the wires and machines that beeped softly. “You already won.”

Will let out a soft breath because the boy’s voice was so _fond_ , and smiled at Mike who smiled back shakily.

Dustin whispered to Lucas, leaning over to the boy behind Will and Mike who were in their own world. “They know we’re here right? This is the sappiest shit I’ve ever seen.” Lucas snickered and just patted Dustin’s knee, shushing him and pushing the curly haired boy back fully onto his own chair.


	2. Chapter 2

When Mike had eventually been called out by his mom, he gave Will a tight hug, smiling into the boy’s hair and holding on for dear life. Dustin followed, graping Will firmly and patting his back, whispering something into the boy’s ear that made him laugh. Lucas had stayed for a bit longer, and he and Will had gotten into a heated debate over the merits of the fight response (Will) versus the flight response (Lucas). 

But Lucas was called out of Will’s hospital room eventually too, leaving Will alone again. 

Halfway through the night, as the boy started to drop off to sleep he heard the pitter patter of footsteps down the hallway that he normally heard when he himself was out of bed and wandering around at night.

The door to his room opened with a soft click, and he looked over in his sleep addled state to see what he assumed was a funhouse version of himself. He was about to scream, when the figure stepped closer and he realized it was Eleven. Will sighed a resigned sigh.

“What are you doing here?” He whispered, half sure that the hospital was closed at this time. Eleven just shrugged, and sat at his bedside on the chair that Mike was sitting on before. 

Will sat up and spoke again. “What do you want?” Eleven just stared at him before speaking.

“Mike.” She spoke quietly, but very strongly, like her word was carefully chosen. Will didn’t know much about the girl, and almost nothing about her speaking. From what he gleaned she could speak full sentences, but only under great duress and so she spoke few words but understood people clearly.

“You want Mike?” He asked confused, isn’t Mike exactly what she didn’t want?

“No.” Eleven spoke, then slowly pointing at the boy. “You do.” Will felt his cheeks heat up at her statement. This was not an interaction he had expected. 

Eleven didn’t look upset, Will would even go as far to say as he thought she looked happy. He wondered if she thought that the two were alike, the same way Will thought. Will wondered what had made her come into his room, what possessed her to come late at night and ask him questions about his feelings. Prying with 3 words or less. It’s not that he didn’t “want” Mike, he just wasn’t sure how he “wanted” the boy. He couldn’t deny the feelings were there, he just wasn’t sure how to differentiate those feelings from the ones he had for Dustin and Lucas.

“Look Eleven, I don’t know okay?” He said, saying what was on his mind. He was sitting up even farther now and rustling all his cords. Eleven just cocked her head questioningly.

“You do.” She said again, nodding her head and smiling at him. Will felt his shoulders tense up and he just stared back at her. Eleven was slightly disturbing to him, but since his friend’s seemed attached to her, or at least Mike did, he figured he was going to be a fixture he would learn to be around.

“I guess I do.” Will conceded, deciding that she might be easier to talk to if he didn’t play around. “Don’t tell.” He was still whispering to her and Eleven smiled again, revealing teeth this time. She held out her pinky and he locked his with hers.

“Promise.” She said, nodding and curling her pinky tighter around his. He smiled back and she unlocked their pinkies, closing her eyes as if to sleep. Her body was moving slightly and Will watched her sway, focusing on her small hands that were now clenched on her chair and how familiar they looked. He had seen those hands on himself many times.

He noted that on her the hands looked strong but on him they looked weak and tucked that into the back of his mind where the girly boy thoughts went.

“Do you like girls?” He asked her, even though she was still swaying slightly with her eyes closed. Eleven nodded, eyes still shut.

“Girls.” She confirmed in a whisper and Will nodded at her, feeling a sense of safety.

Safety came with your brother telling you that you don’t have to like things just because people tell you too, and confirming that yes, girls are things you don’t have to like.

“Boys.” He said, in an equal tone, causing Eleven to smile and crinkles to form under her still closed eyes. Eleven, with eyes still closed, laid her head down near Will’s hand, humming as she shifted ever so slightly and felt herself slip out of consciousness.

His own eyes began drooping and he laid back down in his bed, looking over to Eleven one last time before he fell into sleep.

They dreamt of long summers filled with clean sheets, endless baskets of fries, and a girl and a boy respectively.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and cue mike walking in at morning time and nearly crying bc what did the 2 do????????  
> @floralconversesations on tumblr and insta  
> kudos and comments make my day!!

**Author's Note:**

> i love eleven so much and this was needed  
> follow me @floralconversesations on tumblr  
> kudos and comments r my life blood


End file.
